After becoming one of the most talked-about international television hits of the past year, “Heated RivalrySeries Review: Crave & HBO MAX’ Heated Rivalry” has officially been left out of the 2026 International Emmy Awards nominations. The Canadian-produced hockey romance was submitted for consideration, but when the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced its 2026 nominees, the series was nowhere on the list. A Bell Media representative confirmed that Heated Rivalry had been submitted for consideration.
The omission comes after months of growing attention surrounding the series, which stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie as Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, respectively. Based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novel series, Heated Rivalry became a major international conversation piece after its debut, with its U.S. audience discovering the series through HBO Max while the show originated as a Canadian production for Crave.
Submitted, But Not Nominated
Unlike the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards, where Heated Rivalry was never eligible because of its production structure, the series was eligible for the International Emmy Awards. That distinction is important. The Primetime Emmys have specific rules concerning foreign productions. Heated Rivalry was produced and financed in Canada, with Crave as its original Canadian home. HBO Max subsequently licensed the series for U.S. distribution rather than serving as a U.S. production partner. Under the Television Academy’s rules, that prevented the series from competing for the Primetime Emmys.
The International Emmys operate separately and are designed to recognize television produced and initially aired outside the United States. As a Canadian production, Heated Rivalry was therefore eligible for consideration.
And it was submitted.
But it did not make the final list.
64 Nominees, 16 Categories
The 2026 International Emmy Awards announced 64 nominees across 16 categories, representing 22 countries. The United Kingdom leads this year’s nominations with 14, followed by Brazil with nine and Spain with five. Among the nominees are productions ranging from drama series and comedy to documentaries, news, children’s programming, sports documentaries, telenovelas and TV movies.
Notably, there is no Heated Rivalry in any category.
| Category | Heated Rivalry |
|---|---|
| Drama Series | ❌ Not nominated |
| Best Performance by an Actor | ❌ Not nominated |
| Best Performance by an Actress | ❌ Not nominated |
| Other categories | ❌ Not nominated |
Why Didn’t It Get Nominated?
There is no publicly announced explanation from the International Academy detailing why Heated Rivalry failed to make the final nominees. That means it would be speculative to say that the series was rejected because of its subject matter, its popularity, its performances, its distribution arrangement or any other particular factor. What is known is straightforward: the series was submitted, it was eligible, and it was not selected among the final nominees.
The International Emmy nomination process involves a large pool of eligible international programming competing for a limited number of nomination slots. The final list contains only four nominees in each of the 16 categories.
The International Emmy omission follows the show’s earlier absence from the 2026 Primetime Emmy nominations, although the circumstances were very different. For the Primetime Emmys, Heated Rivalry was not eligible, rather than being submitted and rejected. The Television Academy’s rules require foreign productions to have qualifying U.S. financial and creative co-production arrangements established before production. Heated Rivalry did not meet that requirement. The series nevertheless received recognition from the Television Academy in another form: Heated Rivalry was among the programs honored at the 2026 Television Academy Honors. The Television Academy’s own awards page currently lists the series with one honor and no nominations.
Despite its absence from the International Emmy nominations, Heated Rivalry has already accumulated significant recognition. The series won 16 Canadian Screen Awards and received a Peabody Award, according to reporting following its awards-season run. Its popularity has also helped turn Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie into breakout names, with the two actors appearing at major entertainment events and becoming closely associated with the show’s international success.
The series has also been renewed for a second season, giving fans more of Shane and Ilya’s story to look forward to.
For fans, the International Emmy omission is particularly notable because this time there was no eligibility technicality preventing Heated Rivalry from entering the race. It was eligible. It was submitted. And it simply did not make the final 64. That leaves the show’s supporters to speculate about what might have happened during the selection process, but without an official explanation from the International Academy, any specific reason would be just that—speculation.
What can be said with certainty is that “Heated Rivalry” will not compete at the 2026 International Emmy Awards, despite being submitted for consideration. For a series that has already demonstrated considerable cultural and awards-season impact, its absence is likely to remain one of the more noticeable omissions from this year’s international television awards conversation. The 2026 International Emmy Awards are scheduled to take place in New York on November 23, 2026, where this year’s nominees will compete across the 16 categories.
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